Democrats in Sacramento rolled out another budget proposal today, designed to avoid program cuts by increasing taxes. We talk with Assembly Speaker John Pérez. We also hear about next month's primaries for Attorney General, with the DA's of LA and San Francisco hoping to run against each other in November. On our rebroadcast of To the Point, some scientists claim they're getting closer to creating life in the laboratory. Are they playing God?

FROM THIS EPISODE

Democrats in Sacramento rolled out another budget proposal today, designed to avoid program cuts by increasing taxes. We talk with Assembly Speaker John Pérez. We also hear about the six Democrats running against each other in next month's primaries for Attorney General, including DA's of LA and San Francisco. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, a renowned geneticist claims a major advance toward creating life in a laboratory. We look at the benefits and possible drawbacks, including biological weapons in the wrong hands.

Yesterday, Democrats in the State Senate said a tax increase of some $5 billion would avoid massive program cuts proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger. Today, Assembly Democrats unveiled what they call the California Jobs Budget, which also calls for more taxes. We speak with Assembly Speaker John Pérez and others.

Republican Steve Cooley and Democrat Kamala Harris are the District Attorneys of Los Angeles and San Francisco Counties, respectively. But that doesn't make either one a shoo-in for next month's primary for Attorney General. Steve Maviglio, a veteran Democratic consultant in Sacramento, reviews the slate of Democrats hoping to become the state's lead law enforcement officer. (Tomorrow we'll look at the Republican candidates.)

J. Craig Venter is being compared to Galileo, Darwin and Einstein — at the same time he's denounced for trying to "play God." In the 1990's, he beat a team of international scientists in deciphering the human genome. Last week, he announced a breakthrough in creating life in a laboratory, which he called "the first self-replicating species… whose parent is a computer."